I must say, I was happy to see this movie pop up in the Netflix “Because you watched” list.  I have caught bits and pieces of it from when it was released in 2010, but never the whole thing.  It’s rated PG.

The Premise:

Anna (Amy Adams) has a successful career in Boston as a real estate stager, and a heart doctor fiance named Jeremy (Adam Scott).  She thinks he has invited her to dinner to propose, but that turns out not to be the case.  She decides to take matters into her own hands, and purpose to him.  Apparently, it’s an old Irish custom for women to purpose on Leap Day in Ireland, and as it turns out, Jeremy is in Dublin for a conference on – you guest it – Leap Day!  However, plans go awry landing her in a one-horse Irish town where she hires Declan to drive her to Dublin and shenanigans ensue.

The “It” Factor:

Mom and Tween: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Teen: ❤️❤️❤️❤️ – She docked it a heart because she thought they should have dated a little longer before getting engaged.

We all agreed that this movie has the “it” factor.  Even though the plot is a bit thin and does nothing to advance any feminist notions, we loved it.  And let’s face it, you already know those things going into most romances.  I am always charmed by Amy Adams and she did not fail here.  She (and I might add, her amazing calf muscles) make the movie.  As the tween noted “she is perky and funny without being too annoying.”

We all loved the banter between  Anna (Adams) and Declan (Goode), the funny cow scene, and the cinematography.  It was filmed all around Ireland and the scenery is beautiful.  However, if you are a geographic purest, you will have some problems as it would appear they traveled the whole of Ireland and went way out of their way to get to Dublin.  I am geographically challenged, and even I noticed this.  Anywho, that is what a “willing suspension of disbelief” is for – right?  So just chill and enjoy the scenery.

Fun 80’s/90’s star appearance: Jonathon Lithgow as Anna’s father.

Him Is So Handsome:

Tween and Teen: ❤️❤️❤️

Mom: ❤️❤️❤️❤️

We all have a thing for dark hair and blue eyes in this family, so we all liked Matthew Goode.  I like him a little more.  The girls thought he was a little too old to get a full five stars, ageist that they are.

The Tropes (all the cliches):

✔️The road trip

✔️ Enemies to lovers

❓ Unconfirmed dead mother.  Anna meets her father (Lithgow) for a drink to supposedly tell him that she is getting engaged.  No mother shows up, and I get the feeling that she might not be on the scene.  Of course, that doesn’t mean she is dead necessarily, but you kind of get that impression. Here’s to hoping there is a living mother of a heroin floating somewhere in the backstory!

 

The Ewwww Factor: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Nothing Ewwww here.  Everyone can enjoy watching it together.

The Bechdel-Wallace Test: ❤️

It barely eeks out a pass because the majority of scenes are between Anna and Declan.  However, there is a bit of conversation between Anna and a female board member of an exclusive apartment building.  There is also a brief snippet of conversation between an innkeeper’s wife and Adams that doesn’t focus on men or romance, but rather on the marital status of the couple from the previous night and cooking.